Immigration deal distant as leaders face shutdown

House GOP trying for stopgap spending bill

Washington — A deal between President Donald Trump and Congress to protect young immigrants from deportation remained distant Tuesday, as House Republican leaders shifted to a painful backup plan: crafting a stopgap funding bill that would merely delay the threat of an election-year shutdown.

The focus on a budget Plan B — another temporary measure that would buy time for more talks — was the latest sign of a breakdown in bipartisan deal-making in a Congress that has struggled to find common ground even on areas of broad agreement.

House GOP leaders, seeking to lock down support among conservatives for the stopgap funding measure, are looking to sweeten it with a plan to delay implementation of unpopular taxes on medical devices and generous employer-subsidized health care taxes, according to GOP aides. The taxes, also unpopular with many Democrats, are part of former President Barack Obama’s marquee health law.

The aides, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the plan is not yet public, also predicted the measure would include a long-delayed renewal of a popular health insurance program for children. Democrats said they’re still unlikely to support the measure without an agreement on immigration.

However, conservatives say there’s enough Republican opposition to scuttle a plan by House GOP leaders to prevent a government shutdown this weekend.

Around half of the roughly 30 members of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus met privately late Tuesday. When they emerged, leader Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., said there are not enough Republican votes to push the GOP leaders’ measure through the House this week with GOP-only support.

Meadows says conservatives want the measure to allow additional defense spending.

Trump’s incendiary remarks about “shithole” countries in Africa last week dashed any hopes of a quick immigration deal this week. Democrats appeared to see scant reason to bargain with a president many in their party view as holding racist views on immigration.